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The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis
Welcome to The Empowered Parent Podcast Series 2.
This short series is inspired by the Australia and New Zealand Inaugural Neurodivergence and Wellbeing Conference.
Over the next few episodes, we’ll be shining a light on what it truly means to belong, and celebrating the lives, strengths, and stories of neurodivergent people.
I’ll be speaking with leaders, advocates, and thinkers from across Australia and New Zealand who are pioneering change. Together, we’ll explore how families, schools, and communities can move beyond old deficit views - and instead see neurodivergence as a vital part of human diversity.
This series is about hope, celebration, and possibility. It’s about recognising that there is a place in the world for everyone - and that when we create belonging, we all thrive.
Don’t forget to follow along, share your reflections, and join the conversation. You can connect with me at danabaltutis.com or mytherapyhouse.com.au
Let’s celebrate neurodivergence. Let’s celebrate belonging.
The Empowered Parent with Dana Baltutis
Episode 63: (Nikita Pinto Speech Pathologist) : The Pre-Linguistic Journey: How Children Master Communication Before First Words
Speech Pathologist Nikita Pinto reveals the critical pre-linguistic skills children need to develop before they can speak their first words. These foundation skills are essential building blocks that support all future communication development.
• Reacting to sounds and people in the environment forms the basis of listening and understanding
• Responding to people and turn-taking establishes the back-and-forth pattern essential for conversation
• Attention span is crucial as children need to stay focused to absorb language information
• Joint attention allows children to share experiences with caregivers about objects or events
• Playing with toys provides exploration opportunities and contexts for language learning
• Understanding familiar words precedes the ability to speak them
• Vocalizing and making different sounds develops into first words
Parents often focus exclusively on getting their child to say words, missing the importance of building connection first. Children need to hear words repeatedly in different contexts for approximately six months before they can use them meaningfully. Using facial expressions, animated voices, and body language ("affect") helps captivate children's attention and makes words "stick."
Instead of asking lots of questions, provide information by commenting and naming things in your child's environment. Use the "four-to-one rule" - offer four pieces of information before asking one question.
danabaltutis.com, mytherapyhouse.com.au, https://mytherapyhouse.com.au/your-childs-therapy-journey/ https://www.danabaltutis.com/services
